Keeping a healthy mindset during the holidays is so important. Having a gratitude practice helps. 

I started writing down 3 things I am grateful for every night before going to bed. I also do a quick gratitude list in the morning. I helps me with a positive mindset at the start of my day. It’s always good to remember that what I focus on, gets bigger and I’d prefer to put my attention on what lifts me up.

When gathering for Thanksgiving, there are family’s that take turns- each sharing one thing they are grateful for. There are some people that do this practice before every meal. 

There is something about pausing before eating and saying “thanks”.  It helps bring you into your body and the present moment. Just doing this one new thing can make a big difference. What a gift! 

The big things in life can look small when compared to all the little things we get to experience everyday - we just have to remember to take notice. A gratitude practice can shine a light on those moments - especially if you know you will have to write down 3 things later in the day. Your attention will scan for things - making your day more enjoyable. 

Pantry Refresh
 
Fall is the perfect time to go through your pantry. Before planning the meals and goodies for the holidays see what you already have - you may not need to buy as much as you thought.
 
Look for things to donate to a food pantry or expired items you can toss.
 
Once you clear out what you don’t need, categorize what is left.
 
Group ‘like’ items together: Soups / sauces / canned veggies / canned fruit / nuts / cereals / baking. It’s helpful to store flour / sugar / cereals in food containers to keep them fresh and always know how much you have. Take snack packs and protein bars out of the box they came in and store in bins for easy access. Label all the containers!
 
Consider who is using the pantry. If you have young children, put the items they use lower so they can easily reach what they need. Most often used items should be easiest to access. 
 
Create zones within the pantry e.g. baking supplies, canned goods and snacks. This helps you to easily see what you have and what you need to add to the shopping list.
 
Depending on the kind of panty you have, don’t forget to maximize vertical space and the back of the panty door. This could be a good place for spices or teas.

Some product suggestions for your Pantry (links below):
 
Storage Bins with Handles are extremely versatile and can be used in other areas of your home for storage.  They come in 4 different sizes and a variety of colors and are easy to label.

Cereal Dispensers keep cereals from getting stale and also lets you easily see how much you have left. It also looks much nicer in the pantry vs the cereal boxes.

A Canister Set is great for keeping various dry food fresh. This set is stackable and modular, meaning they can stack and be the same height, which really helps with a consistent look in the pantry. 

Turntables help with canned goods, sauces, dressings, condiments, spices & any other round item you have.  There are one tier and 2 tier options.

Kitchen Organizers & Space Savers
 
There are so many kitchen organization items to choose from. Shelf stackers, turntables, lid holders, bins, drawer sorters.  
 
3 of my favorite tools are:
 
1. Pull-outs - even if your current kitchen does not have pull-out drawers, you can get them in the size you need and install them. These can be used in all the lower cabinets and deep pantry shelves. Don’t underestimate the value of adding them, they are a game changer. (Many places carry these, or you can have them made to size) 
 
2. Shelf dividers – I always call these shelf risers and they are a great way to use vertical space to stack dishes or cups. Instead of stacking all the different sizes of plates on top of each other - or on different shelves, add a shelf divider and stack the smaller plates above the larger. It is a great use of space and allows you to get what you need without having to lift up something else. 

3. Drawer organizers - whether it is a silverware drawer, cooking utensil drawer or junk drawer - drawer organizers help you designate a home for things - and make it easy to put things away. I really like expandable drawer trays for silverware and utensils. The key is to MEASURE the drawer. Length, width AND height so you get one that fits. If the options out there don’t work for what you have, you can get separate containers and arrange them in the drawer.

Junk drawers
 
Everyone has one. I've heard it called a junk drawer or a mystery drawer. I prefer utility drawer. 

It's the drawer that collects all the misc. stuff that you don't know where to put, but you want nearby. Things you have and need on occasion - and those mystery items, parts or pieces - that you find and don’t know what they go to, but are afraid to throw out. Stuff that ends up in there due to a last-minute cleanup for company. There is nothing wrong with having a drawer like this, but I'd suggest using a drawer insert or individual small inserts to divide up the items so it's easier to see what is the drawer. 


 
Here are 2 options:


Shelves vs Cabinets
 
So many kitchens now have shelves as part of the design. I’ve seen it done on HGTV renovation shows and everywhere online. I do like the way it looks in certain kitchens, but as an organizer - I am not a big fan of using shelves to store dishes in kitchens. 
​
Here are 3 reasons why:
 
Kitchens get dirty. Other than the usual house dust, there is often grease from cooking on the stove that gets on cabinets. The hand mixer is pulled out of the bowl too quickly causing dough to be thrown around, or you put something in the blender and the top pops off. It is much easier to wipe down a cabinet door than take off all the dishes from a shelf to clean and replace. Cabinets help keep your dishes clean.
 
All the same style dishes stacked nicely on a shelf can look good, but keeping that consistent takes effort. More often than not, the shelves hold misc. dishes of all types placed randomly. It can easily become an area that draws the eye, but not in a good way. Cabinets keep a clean and consistent look in the kitchen.
 
Cabinets offer more storage. Especially in a smaller kitchen where you don’t want to give up storage. You can use shelf dividers to hold more items and use the whole interior of the cabinet. Shelves don’t offer you that option because it would look cluttered. 
 
Before you decide which way to go for your kitchen, consider how you use your kitchen and what type of dishes you have. Are you willing to take the time to keep the shelves looking nice? Do you have enough additional storage space for all your kitchen items?

​Kitchens are the heart of the house, where people spend the most time. Even at gatherings, everyone always ends up in the kitchen.
 
Several years ago, my family came to my house for the holidays and everyone was using the kitchen, helping with cooking and clean-up.
 
After they left, I had trouble finding things, like my colander.  One of my sister’s had joked how it’s fun to work in other people's kitchens and put things away where you think they should go - not where the homeowner had it stored. I shared this with my mom and she remembered us doing that to her when we visited and said it was always an adventure finding things after we left. 
 
Hopefully everyone in your house knows where things go and are able to put them away. Take time to figure out what the best place is for the things you use most. Easy to get and easy to put away is crucial for your most used items.
 
If you are planning a kitchen renovation, keep in mind that the kitchen layout that looks so good in the magazine, my not work for your family and lifestyle.
 
Before you renovate, observe how your family functions in the kitchen. How do you want the space to flow? What is working and what is not working? Is there a place where everyone gets in each other’s way? Maybe an additional ‘prep’ sink would help for people to get water or wash their hands without needed the main sink.
 
There’s a “work triangle” rule of functioning in a kitchen which includes the sink, stove/oven and refrigerator. Each side of the triangle should measure between 4-9 feet and there should be nothing in the way of any side. This is believed to be the most efficient way to set up a kitchen. 
 
But not all kitchens can follow this model, especially smaller kitchens where things are much closer together.
 
The simplest way to store items is near to where you use them. You would not want to walk across the kitchen to get a plate for something coming out of the fridge or off the stove. Ease of use is important to consider so eye level is where the most used items should be placed. 
 
Lower cabinets with pull outs or deep drawers are great for pot and pans, Tupperware or large bowls and small appliances.
 
A newer trend is designing kitchens with stations. This means having a designated area for different activities like a cooking area, prep area, food storage area, baking area, beverage center etc. All the items needed for a particular task are stored in the area the task is done. If you have a baking area, you would store the pie & cake pans, cupcake pans, mixer, measuring cups, rolling pin, flour, sugar and mixes all in that space. For the beverage center, include coffee pot and coffee, tea, soda, wine etc. along with coffee cups and drinking/wine glasses. If you have kids, maybe there is smaller table to do homework which has pencils/crayons & paper. Create a section nearby for their cups & plates, ideally a lower cabinet so they can reach it.
 
Stations work best in larger kitchens where you can spread things out. It cuts down on running into each other when working with others in the kitchen - and needing to get into the same cabinets.  
 
The key to any kitchen is making the most used items easy to get at and easy to put away. This may sound obvious, but I’ve been in many kitchens where this is not the case. 
 
For example, maybe it makes more sense to have plates in a deep-lower pull out drawer and use the upper cabinets for food items. Are there appliances taking up room on your countertop that you rarely use? Find an alternate storage space for them, or give them away. 
 
And please, if you do a reno, have your cabinets go up to the ceiling.